And so to my final concert in Rio de Janeiro. The gig was of enough importance to merit a mention in Brazil's prime media corporation O Globo. The article pointed out how Anderson had mentioned to journalists at the time of Jethro Tull's first concert in Brazil (1988) how he preferred Scotland's grey skies and subzero temperatures to Rio's eternal summer, which causou polêmica among weather-proud Brazilians. Fortunately for him, the gods seemingly answered his prayers, with torrential rains before the gig and the lowest temperature recorded in Rio this year (a brutally chilling 18° Celsius...).
The gig was at the same venue as Ozzy's show last month, and benefited from the same excellent acoustics. This was my first all-seated show ever, which was fine by me - I could sit back and drink expensive beer to the awesome music of Jethro Tull all night, which is what I do on many nights anyway. Much criticism has been banded about regarding Anderson's weakening voice - this can't be denied, but his flute playing and stage presence is still awe-inspiring. For a 63 year old he is far from sedentary - Anderson struts around brandishing his small metal instrument, playing some excellent improv. and acting as a great showman to boot. His backing band do a quality job too, all brilliantly proficient at their instruments, giving their own take on the old stuff too.
Despite being billed as a rarities setlist , a great deal of Jethro Tull classics were played - the excerpt of 'Thick As A Brick' being undoubtedly the highlight, and for the obligatory set-closer "Locomotive Breath" the crowd abandoned their seats and moved as close as possible to the stage. Slightly disappointed at the lack of anything from Heavy Horses though, but it was good to see a few hidden gems - 'Up To Me' from the Aqualung album and 'Budapest' from 1987's Crest of a Knave. The instrumental jams were excellent too - the band paying copious amounts of homage to Bach and World music in equal amounts. You wonder what the average Brazilian makes of the lyrical content - what other artist can sing about their pets, dervishes, sardonic takes on religion, backstage encounters with girls and the Vietnam war over the course of one gig? 45 years in the business now, Anderson may have fallen from such heights as the folk-rock trilogy era of the late 70's, but he certainly isn't Too Old For Rock 'n' Roll just yet.
Jack
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